Chapter 46 The Rotten Core
Chapter 46 The Rotten Core
ARDEN
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The room dimmed even further as the door closed quietly behind the newcomer, Cade stiffened beside me, his eyes. narrowing in the direction of the sound.
Mr. Winters.
I recognized that silhouette even before the overhead glow from a monitor illuminated the sharp angles of his face. He moved calmly, exuding the confidence of someone who had all the time in the world and nothing to fear. Striding directly to the computer, he began typing a password.
Click. Click. Click. Enter.
And then the screen came to life.
A curious impulse overtook me; I leaned ever so slightly to peek through the narrow gap between the desks. My eyes widened in horror when I caught sight of a slew of thumbnails featuring naked bodies,
Just then, a series of moans echoed from the speakers. Cade stiffened beside me, clutching my body instinctively.
The moans crescendoed further, forcing a gasp from deep within me–a sound I could not hold back, born not of fear but of sheer disgust. At that moment, the reality settled heavily around me.
These were the students of Elite
In classrooms. Bathrooms. Dorm rooms.
I let out a deep, trembling breath before I could catch myself.
But the sound was enough to make Mr. Winters pause.
His shoulders shifted slightly, and his head turned slowly, scanning the space like a predator who had caught wind of blood.
Crep
Without hesitation, Cade seized my wrist and tugged me away from the meager opening beneath the desks, maneuvering us around a column of shelves. We squeezed into a tight crevice behind a server rack, barely wide enough for one person.
My back thudded against cool metal. Cade pressed flush against me.
Chest to chest. Hips aligned. No space to breathe.
His hand instinctively covered my mouth, silencing the sharp breath that had escaped me from the unexpected heat
adiating off his body His skin felt warm against mine, which was still chilled from wearing only a semi–soaked tank top from earlier. Now, every inch of my chest was in contact with his.
I could feel everything
The temuon coding in his muscles. The steady thump of his heartbeat synchronizing with mine.
My breath caught in my throat–not from the fear of being discovered, but from the way his thumb grazed my cheek, a mere
veledent but potent enough to send shivers down any spine.
His eyes locked with mine, a silent warming in their depths.
Aher a few more tense moments of repositioning by Mr. Winters–his action of inserting a flash drive into the computer–he finally rahaled with a weary sigh
“Dut the rats get in here again?” he muttered, shaking his head in annoyance.
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Chapter 46 The Rotten Core
He moved slowly outside the door.
“Better get this cleaned again,” he added.
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I hadn’t realized just how shallow my breathing had become. Cade’s hand remained gently sealing my lips, allowing only the slightest whisper of air to escape. His face was so close that I could count the delicate lashes brushing along his cheekbones.
Then, the doors clicked shut behind Mr. Winters.
Cade’s hand gradually lowered from my mouth, yet he didn’t step back immediately. We remained in the intimate proximity. still too close for comfort.
My lips parted, my breath finally freed, and it brushed against his cheek accidentally. My heart raced so fast I felt lightheaded. The feel of him, the warmth of his breath so deliciously close to mine, was intoxicating.
When our eyes met again, the heat between us was something I couldn’t quite explain.
Our lips parted just slightly, and for one fleeting, foolish second, I forgot we were hiding at all.
Then Cade turned away first.
He stood without uttering a single word, the space between us evaporating like it had never existed. His shadow drifted toward the computer tower, and I was left sitting there, still trying to catch my breath.
What just happened?
My fingers twitched at my sides as I sat up slowly, the cold of the floor grounding me to reality. I blinked, struggling to snap myself back to the present. Cade hadn’t looked back.
I stood, brushing dust off my knees just as he reached the monitor. His fingers flew across the keyboard, pausing only to input something into the login field.
“How do you know?” I asked, my voice hoarse from everything that had just transpired. “The password, I mean.”
“I saw,” Cade muttered, not turning to face me.
My brows shot up in surprise. He actually managed to glimpse the password in that brief moment?
“You saw, too, right? The videos?” he asked, pulling me away from my swirling thoughts.
I nodded slowly, taking cautious steps toward him–but hesitated, unsure if I wanted to get too close again.
He tapped again, this time on a second screen. Another password field appeared, and once more, he typed with confidence. A soft beep echoed in the room, and the folder opened.
What spilled across the screen made my breath hitch in my throat.
Hundreds–no–thousands of files
Fifteen years‘ worth of data.
deradyden
“Oh my goodness breathed “This, this is from the Aftersound, isn’t it?”
ys the footage from the Aftersound is deleted right after the livestream,” I commed, my voice cracking with disbelief. “The sated or duplicated. That anyone who tries to distribute it is punished.”
be
I turned with urgency in my eyes. “Isn’t that what they sayi
Cade but his lower hip his fingers hovering uncertainly over the trackpad
“I supposed to be he replied quietly
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1:13 AM
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Chapter 46 The Rotten Core
He didn’t look at me at all, simply staring blankly at the screen. My stomach twisted with unease.
I reached over hesitantly, scrolling through years of footage. Everything was there. My hand froze when I spotted a file marked differently than the rest.
Just a single red heart emoji.
Without thinking. I clicked.
A video loaded, and suddenly there was a woman, not older than me, with a pale face. Her eyes trembled, and her voice was snall, nearly drowning in the static that filled the room.
“Please,” she implored. “I have a mate. I don’t want to do this-
My heart raced as I shut the window immediately, the pounding echoing in my ears.
“What the hell is this place?” I choked out.
Cade’s expression darkened completely–his jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his sides. The same man who had held. me moments before now looked like he was barely holding himself together.
“Cade,” I said softly, reaching toward him. “Hey. Breathe”
“Are you alright?”
A loud creak from the far wall sliced through the tension.
We both froze once more. There were footsteps, but it was the familiar whistling that made me relax a bit.
It was the school’s janitor.
Cade snapped back into motion, grabbing my wrist.
“Come on.”
He led me away from the computers, weaving quickly through the towering structures. We ducked through a narrow gap, slipped past a metal shell, and hurried toward the opposite wall, where a small access door was concealed behind a tangle of
He pushed it open, and a rush of cold air hit my face..
I led to the back edge of the campus, where the maze garden sprawled in afkits glory.
He helped me climb out first, then followed, silently slamming the door behind him to keep our escape concealed,
The skies had darkened, threatening rain. I looked up for a moment when Cade suddenly pulled me by the hand into the
Cadr
We weaved left, then right, plunging deeper into the dark hedges. Finally, lie stopped at the center–a circular clearing surrounded by twisting vines and blooming roses. It was quiet here. Tidden.
a word. Ja turned to face me
And then he hugged me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders tight, like he needed something solid to hold onto. His raded into my neck, and the scent of old leaves mingled with faint roses, embracing me like a warm cocoon.
“What’s happening? I murmured, bewildered
“Let “Just
“Let me hold you,” he said “Just for a moment
